Before a crowded State House hearing room, legislators and activists assailed the College's undemocratic nature, its origins in slavery and the way it concentrates money and attention in a handful of battleground states, to the exclusion of the rest of the country's votes.

The attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords brought about another finger storm of thunderpoints in the media, each one blaming the other for the rhetoric that seems to be turning our nation into a tinderbox.

As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battle for votes, the Democratic nomination could be decided at the national convention, so local delegates -- and the caucuses where they're elected -- were buzzing. On Saturday, Massachusetts' 10 congressional districts held an election for each candidate.